
Next week it's all change at the Isle of Thanet Gazunder, where my strip usually appears every Friday. The rag's having a makeover, so who knows where, or whether, East of the Wantsum will fit in.
More importantly, buried in the Gazunder 'revamp' news is the shock revelation that the other Thanet papers in the Daily Mail owned Northcliffe Media group, Thanet Times and Sadscene, are 'merging'. Which effectively means one or the other has folded (in the financial rather than the literal paper sense). Clearly the plastic bottom has fallen out of the double glazing market, and with Broadstairs uPvc millionaires barely able to scrape enough together for their third Range Rover, I presume advertising budgets are being cut to the bone.
Still, it's not all doom and gloom as the Gazunder has a new, award winning hack to replace Dr Who and George Formby obsessed Thom Morris who's departed for pastures new (Ashford). Step forward Andy Woodman, who this week scooped [Geddit?!!!?] an 'exclusive' on how the, er, floaters in the water over on the east of the island will prevent Viking Bay from getting a Blue Flag yet again next year. Maybe the poor Dickensians would have more luck applying for a Poo Flag.
And speaking of poo-pooing, needless to say the Gazunder's lovely editor Rebecca poured cold, Viking Bay water on my suggestion that Andy should be given his own column: Woodman's Chopper - A light-hearted look at the burgeoning Thanet dogging scene! Well, come on, if she can have a column called The Joy of Bex, why on earth not?!